A lot of blood was sacrificed from the heart of Bengal to make India free. Mothers lost their children and wives their husbands. But none had wept because the stake was too high, the chances too great and the ultimate result too fabulous to dream. At his tender youth, when Khudiram became a martyr every body wept silently but were inspired by his courage and took up arms for a battle against all odds.

Khudiram Bose was born on 3rd Dec 1889 in Habibpur, Medinipur of Laxmipriya Devi and Troilokyanath Bose. He had to move on to Tamlook where he was admitted to Hamilton school. Like any other boy, he was interested in reading detective novels and loved to play flute. It was in his schooldays he was inspired by the activists, Satyedranath and Gyanendranath Bose who headed a secret society to campaign and fight against British supremacy. He played the role of a savior when Kangsabati flooded and was responsible for saving a number of lives. In 16th Oct 1905 Bengal was divided by Lord Curzon and this further infuriated the activists. The radicals swore blood. Aurobindo Ghosh and Barin Ghosh, along with Raja Subodh Mallik together formed a secret extremist outfit called the Yugantar.

Meanwhile, in 1906, February, Khudiram was running errands for the Medinipur based outfit of the extremists. He came to be known in those parts after hitting down a police officer and escaping after being arrested at the grounds of Medinipur old jail for distributing a nationalist propaganda called ‘Sonar Bangla’. He also robbed mailbags to accumulate funds for the society’s operations.

By that time, in Calcutta, the Chief Presidency Magistrate Kingsford had gained notoriety by passing out stiff sentences against the nationalist activists. Things got worse when he ordered to cane a youth called Sushil Sen held in contempt of the court. Sushil was left more dead than alive and this incident caused furore through out Bengal. The Yugantar passed Kingsford’s death sentence and Khudiram and another youth, Prafulla Chaki were chosen for the job.

Khudiram and Prafulla trailed Kingsford to Mujafferpur in Bihar where he had been transferred. They waited for his carriage near the European Club which he frequented. This was the fateful evening of 30th April, 1908. They saw a carriage approaching and thinking it of Kingsford’s and hurled bombs at it. The carriage with its passengers was destroyed but it was not Kingsford who was killed but two European women, Mrs. and Miss Kennedy. A massive manhunt followed and while Khudiram was arrested on 1st May 1908, Prafulla evaded arrest by shooting himself. Khudiram was tried and was sentenced to be hanged to death. On 11th August 1908, Khudiram went to the gallows in a calm manner. He faced death like a true martyr.